Apparatus and system for managing multiple computers

ABSTRACT

A switching device and system for interconnecting a single user console having user interface devices, including a console keyboard, a console video display unit, a console mouse, and speakers to a plurality of host computers each capable of using user interface devices, including a keyboard, a video display unit, and a mouse, and allowing the user to access one or more of the host computers from the single user console. The video output from each of the host computers are scaled and cropped as appropriate so that each of the host computer&#39;s video output may be simultaneously displayed as host computer “windows” on the console video display unit. The user may easily navigate between the host computers through a convenient and intuitive user interface. The audio output from each of the host computers may be mixed or switched for output to the speakers as desired.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/105,063, filed Apr. 12, 2005, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,240,111 on Jul. 3, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and moreparticularly, to a system to enable a single user console to manage,control, and simultaneously view a plurality of host computers.

2. Description of Related Art

There exist devices for interconnecting a single computer to multiplecomputers. For example, a keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switch is a devicethat is generally connected to multiple computers in order to enable asingle keyboard, video monitor and mouse to control each of theconnected computers. In this way, a user may have access to multiplecomputers without having to invest in corresponding keyboards, monitors,and mice for each of the computers. When the user accesses a computerconnected to the KVM switch, video signals are routed from the computer,processed, and displayed on the single video monitor. Generally, theuser must utilize pre-defined key sequences, such as <scroll-lock><scroll-lock>, to release control over the first computer, returncontrol to the KVM switch, and navigate through an on-screen menu orother display in order to access another computer connected to the KVMswitch. In some cases, rather than utilizing key sequences and on-screenmenus or displays in order to be able to access another computer, theuser must physically actuate a button or other mechanism on the KVMswitch. But requiring a user to physically access the KVM switch isadverse to the promotion of easy switching between computers,particularly if the KVM switch is placed in an inconvenient, remote, orinaccessible location, for example.

Regardless of how access to a particular computer is granted, fortypical KVM switches, only the video output of the accessed computer isprocessed and displayed on the single video display unit. That is, auser is not able to view the video output from the other “non-accessed”computers connected to the KVM switch because video

output from the “accessed” computer covers the entire video displayunit. Allowing a user to view and access one computer while alsoallowing the user to view the other “non-accessed” computers would notonly provide greater information to the user, but would also provide thefoundation for enabling quick and seamless navigation between all thecomputers.

There are products available that allow a user to view the video outputfrom multiple sources, such as the QuadView® XL by RGB Spectrum®, butthese products do not allow the user to actually access the connectedsources. The QuadView® XL, for example, is generally used for simplydisplaying (and manipulating) multiple images on a monitor or projectorwithout allowing the user to control the sources themselves.

It is desirable, therefore, to provide a system that includes amanagement device that has an intuitive user interface to allow for easyinteraction with one or more computers connected to the managementdevice and allow for the simultaneous output of video and audio frommore than one of the computers connected to the management device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an apparatus and system for accessing aplurality of host computers on a single console and allowing a user tosimultaneously view a “windowed” display of the video signals from eachof the host computers. In one embodiment of the present invention, amanagement device is operatively connected to a console including asingle keyboard, mouse, video display, and speakers, to control up tofour host computers.

The management device of the present invention provides an advanced andintuitive user interface. The video signals from the host computers areprocessed for display on the video display of the console. Unlike KVMswitches, which only allow a user to view the host computer the user iscurrently accessing, the present invention allows for the simultaneousviewing of all the host computers connected to the management device.The host computers are each displayed in a “window” or frame, which maybe moved and/or re-sized on the console video display.

Furthermore, the management device of the present invention allows forthe seamless access to each of the host computers and automaticallygenerates the necessary mouse and keyboard signals to interact with thehost computers. The console mouse is represented on the console videodisplay by a console mouse pointer. In order to access a particular hostcomputer, the user simply moves the console mouse pointer over that hostcomputer's window. If the user wishes to access a different hostcomputer, the user may move the console mouse pointer off of the currenthost computer window and onto the window of the host computer desired tobe accessed. If the user does not wish to access any host computer, theuser may move the console mouse pointer to the non-windowed area, forexample, the desktop area of the console video display. Accordingly, themanagement device of the present invention will maintain the facade of awindowing interface.

In addition to the mouse pointer provided by the mouse connected to themanagement device, each of the host computers has its own mouse pointer.Therefore, in order to maintain a seamless windowing interface, themanagement device of the present invention controls the display of allof the mouse pointers on the console video display. It is preferred thatonly one mouse pointer, rather than five mouse pointers, be visible atany point in time. Accordingly, when none of the host computers arebeing accessed, the mouse pointer for the host computers may be turnedoff and only the console mouse pointer is shown. Similarly, when one ofthe host computers is being accessed, the mouse pointer for that hostcomputer may be shown, while the console mouse pointer is turned off andthe rest of the host computers' mouse pointers remain off.

When a host computer is accessed (i.e., the console mouse pointer iswithin the window of the host computer), the management device is ableto position the mouse pointer of any accessed host computer exactlyunder the console mouse pointer by transmitting absolute informationregarding the position of the console mouse pointer. At that point, theconsole mouse pointer may be turned off and the mouse pointer of theaccessed host computer may be turned on. The management device canmanage the display of the mouse pointers by sending control commands tothe host computer. Since one of the most common protocols forcontrolling a mouse is the PS/2 protocol, which only uses relativeinformation to manipulate the position of the mouse pointer, softwaredrivers may be loaded onto the host computers in order to convert therelative positional information to absolute positional information inorder to properly control of the display of the host computers' mousepointers.

The management device of the present invention also manages the audiosignals from each of the host computers. In one embodiment, themanagement device will mix the audio levels from the four hostcomputers, but afford the audio of the currently accessed host computerthe highest volume level. In another embodiment, the management devicewill only allow the audio from the accessed host computer to be sent tothe speakers.

A more complete understanding of the apparatus and system for accessingand simultaneously viewing of a plurality of host computers on a singleconsole will be afforded to those skilled in the art, as well as arealization of additional advantages and objects thereof, by aconsideration of the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment. Reference will be made to the appended sheets of drawingswhich will first be described briefly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary system for allowing thesimultaneous viewing of the video output from a plurality of computersconnected to a KVM switch and for providing easy and intuitive switchingbetween those computers.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an exemplary KVM switch according to theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an exemplary layout of host windows on theconsole display unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an exemplary layout of host windows on theconsole display unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides an apparatus and system that allows forthe simultaneous viewing of the video output from a plurality ofcomputers connected to a management device and provides for easy accessto and intuitive access to those connected computers. In the detaileddescription that follows, like element numerals are used to indicatelike elements appearing in one or more of the figures.

FIG. 1 shows a system for allowing the simultaneous viewing of the videooutput from a plurality of computers connected to a management deviceand for providing easy and intuitive access to those computers. In oneembodiment or the present invention, system 100 comprises a user console102 having user interface devices, including a console keyboard 104, aconsole video display unit 106, a console mouse 108 and console speakers110, a management device 200, and four host computers 112, 114, 116, and118. The management device 200 is disposed between the user console 102and the four host computers 112, 114, 116, and 118. The managementdevice 200 processes signals from the console keyboard 104 and theconsole mouse 108 for use by the appropriate host computer, e.g., hostcomputer 112. In addition, the management device 200 processes the videosignals from the host computers 112, 114, 116, and 118 such that videosignals from each of the host computers may be displayed on the consolevideo display unit 106 simultaneously. Video signals are transmittedthrough the system 100 primarily in one direction, i.e., from the hostcomputers 112, 114, 116, and 118 to the console 102. Generally, videomonitors such as the console video display unit 106 can receive analogvideo signals (such as those transmitted under the video graphics array(VGA) standard), digital video signals, or both (such as thosetransmitted under the digital video interface-integrated (DVI-I)standard). Such video monitors may also include a display data channelto communicate monitor information, such as that required under theVideo Electronics Standards Association (VESA) DDC2B standard.

As with the video signals, audio signals are also transmitted throughthe system 100 primarily from the host computers 112, 114, 116, and 118to the console 102. In one embodiment, the audio signals from each ofthe host computers 112, 114, 116, and 118 are sent through respectiveoutputs, e.g., audio input/output 140, to an audio controller 184located in the management device 200. The audio controller 184 controlsan audio mixer 186 that is connected to console speakers 110. Each ofthe audio signals are mixed such that the audio from each of the hostcomputers can be heard, but the audio from the currently accessed hostcomputer, e.g., host computer 112, will have a higher volume then theother host computers, e.g., host computers 114, 116, and 118. In anotherembodiment, the audio controller 184 may mute or otherwise prevent theaudio signals from all the host computers except for the currentlyaccessed host computer from reaching the console speakers 110.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an exemplary management device 200 accordingto an embodiment of the invention. Management device 200 comprises anintegrated circuit 120, a console processing unit 122, and hostprocessing modules 124, 126, 128, and 130. The host processing modules124, 126, 128, and 130 provide the interface between the host computers112, 114, 116, and 118, respectively and the management device 200. Thenumber of host processing modules may vary depending on the number ofhost computers that can be allowed to connect to a particular managementdevice. For example, there may be a one-to-one correspondence betweenhost processing modules and host computers. On the other hand, it may bepossible for a host processing module to be multiplexed to multiple hostcomputers. Furthermore, a KVM switch may be disposed between a pluralityof host computers and at least one host processing module to therebyincrease the total number of host computers that may be managed.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the host processing modules,e.g. 124, each comprise a host microcontroller 132 and an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM) 134 (e.g., the PhilipsSemiconductor Inter-IC (I²C) EEPROM). It is generally desirable for thehost processing module to be able to handle both analog and digitalvideo signals. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present invention, thehost processing modules, e.g. 124, may further include ananalog-to-digital converter (ADC) 136 (such as the Xicor X98017 ADC), aswell as a digital video input/output 138. When only analog video signalsor only digital video signals are generated by the host computers, e.g.102, the host processing modules, e.g. 124, will automatically processwhichever video signal is present. If both analog and digital videosignals are present, the host processing module may be programmably setto choose one signal over the other, or may simply select by defaulteither the analog or digital video signals.

The integrated circuit (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)or other programmable logic device) 120 is responsible for analyzing andprocessing the video signals from each of the host computers, e.g., hostcomputer 112. It is conceivable that an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC) may be utilized, but ASICs generally require a largeup-front cost that could outweigh the benefit of a reducedbill-of-material cost. The integrated circuit 120 comprises atwo-dimensional drawing accelerator 142, an intermediate frame buffercontroller 158, a host processor serial multiplexer 170, a PS/2 dualport host controller 176, a video processing unit 190, and an audiocontroller 184.

The integrated circuit 120 is also utilized to control the flow of databetween the host computers and the user console 102. A I²C bus switch174 is connected between the host computers' I²C EEPROM (e.g. 134), anda microcontroller 164 (such as those designed by ARM Limited) within theconsole processing unit 122, in order to initiate and terminate datatransfers from the host computer to the console 102. The integratedcircuit 120 further comprises a I²C bus switch controller 172 (such asthose designed by Philips Semiconductor), which controls the I²C busswitch 174 or other high-speed connection to allow the microcontroller164 to communicate with I²C devices in the host computers.

The video processing unit 190 comprises a video input 150, a color-spaceconversion module 152, a scaling module 154, a cropping module 156, avideo analyzer 160, a video sync analyzer 138, and a video generator144. The video analyzer 160 analyzes the video stream in order todetermine the boundary of the active video region of the digital videosignals. Furthermore, the video analyzer 160 may attempt to improve theimages captured by adjusting the parameters of the ADCs, e.g. 136, inthe host processing modules. In addition to digital video signals, thehost computers also transmit video synchronization signals to the videosynchronization analyzer 138. The video synchronization analyzer 138analyzes the video synchronization signals to determine the resolutionand location of the active video region of the digital video signal.

Once the active video region of the digitized video signal isdetermined, the digital video signal is scaled and cropped asappropriate by the scaling module 154 and the cropping module 156,respectively, the intermediate frame buffer controller 158 stores it ina frame buffer (such as a double data rate-synchronous dynamic randomaccess memory (DDR-SDRAM)) 146. In the case of four host computers,there is a video input 150, color-space conversion module 152, scalingmodule 154, cropping module 156, video analyzer 160, and video syncanalyzer 138 corresponding to each of the host computers.

The frame buffer 146 or some other intermediate storage is requiredbecause the host computers are asynchronously providing video signals tothe integrated circuit 120 at different frequencies and phases. Thevideo card of each host computer is completely separate and isolatedfrom the video cards of other host computers. Therefore, although eachhost computer may be outputting the same video resolution, the timedomain of each output will be different from each other. Similarly, thevideo output clock rate of the management device 200 may also be runningat a different time domain from the host computers as a result of itsown internal clock generator 180. But this is not necessarily the case,for example, where the management device video output utilizes signalsfrom one of the inputted host computers in order to match time domains.Nevertheless, because at least three of the video signals from the hostcomputers will be out of synchronicity from the management device videooutput, a video frame may need to be skipped or added for each hostcomputer at a recurring point in time. That is, if a host computer videosignal input is slower than the management device video output, a framemay need to be added since the data will not otherwise be available.Conversely, if a host computer video signal input is faster than themanagement device video output, a frame may need to be skipped.

After the active region frame portions are recorded, they are stored inthe frame buffer 146 along with a screen representation drawn by thetwo-dimensional drawing accelerator 142. A composite image is digitallyformed by a video generator 144 and optionally converted to analog via adigital-to-analog converter 182 before being transmitted to the consolevideo display unit 106 and displayed as a “host computer window.”

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary arrangement whereby each of the host computerwindows are displayed on the console video display unit 106. The sizeand position of each of the host computer windows displayed within theconsole video display unit 106 may be manipulated by the user.

The digital video signals transmitted from the host processing units tothe integrated circuit 120 consume a large amount of bandwidth. Forexample, if each host processing unit transmits a video signal with ascreen resolution of 1600×1200 with a refresh rate of 60 Hz and in24-bit color, the frame buffer 146 would be required to handle nearly 2GB of data per second. In order to reduce cost, however, it ispreferable to reduce the amount of total video bandwidth. This may beachieved by utilizing the color-space conversion module 152, the scalingmodule 154, and the cropping module 156.

Generally, a digital video signal is formed using red-green-blue (RGB)colors in an orthogonal color space. This color space has an axisrepresenting luminance (light intensity), while the two other axesrepresent chrominance (difference between one color and a referencecolor of the same brightness and quality of a color). It is well knownthat the human eye can perceive the luminance of an image much betterthan chrominance. Therefore, the chrominance may be bandwidth-reduced inan image without significant degradation to the perceived image quality.Accordingly, the color-space conversion module 152, in conjunction withthe video analyzer 160, can reduce the video data from 24-bit color to16-bit color, for example. For the video signal with a pixel resolutionof 1600×1200 and refresh rate of 60 Hz, this reduction alone woulddecrease the bandwidth that the frame buffer 146 would be required tohandle to about 1.3 GB/s.

The amount of required bandwidth handled by the frame buffer 146 isfurther reduced via the scaling module 154 and the cropping module 156.The scaling module 154 proportionally reduces the size of the hostcomputer windows so that more than one host computer window may bevisible at a given time. These scaled windows may be -,made larger orsmaller according to the preference of the user. Then cropping module156 removes portions of the host computer windows that cannot be seendue to any overlapping between windows. In FIG. 4, for example, hostcomputer window 4 is fully visible while the host computer windows 1through 3 are each at least partially covered. The cropping module 156removes the data corresponding to the sections that cannot be seen. Inthis way, the bandwidth required to be handled by the frame buffer 146is reduced by three-fourths; thus, for the video signal with a pixelresolution of 1600×1200 and frequency of 60 Hz, for example, thebandwidth could be reduced to approximately 325 MB/s. This is becausethe total amount of visible space on the console video display unit 106will never exceed one screen worth of data. In other words, if theentire visible space of the console video display unit 106 was covered,for example, by a single host window, all the data from the other threehost windows would be removed because those windows cannot be seen.Accordingly, the bandwidth required would be one-fourth of the totalbandwidth.

It should be noted that rather than having the color-space conversionmodule 152 in the integrated circuit 120, a similar function could beperformed within the ADC 136 in the host processing module. For example,an ADC such as the Analog Devices AD9880 is capable of performing thisfunction.

In addition to reducing the bandwidth as described above, the totalincoming video bandwidth may be reduced by removing one or more framesfrom the video stream. That is, the color-space conversion module 152,video analyzer 160, scaling module 154, and cropping module 156, may allbe temporarily or periodically disabled under software control in orderto skip incoming frames. This may be necessary in situations such as ifthe available video bandwidth is temporarily exceeded when the framebuffer is used for another purpose in addition to storing the four inputvideo frames and producing one video output frame. For example,additional bandwidth may be required if the user has moved a host windowand the two-dimensional drawing accelerator 142 is required redraw aframe stored in the frame buffer 146 in order to flood-fill a space inthe frame. The periodic skipping incoming frames is done in such a waythat the user is minimally (if at all) visually aware that any frameshave been skipped.

Data from the console keyboard 104 and console mouse 108 is transmittedthrough the system 100 primarily in the opposite direction from thevideo signals, i.e., from the console 102 to the host computers 112,114, 116, and 118. Data from the console keyboard and console mouse canbe either in Universal Serial Bus (USB) or PS/2 format.

The user console 102 is operatively connected to the console processingunit 122, which comprises a USB Host Controller and Device Controller(USB HC/DC) 162 (such as the Philips ISP1161), the microcontroller 164,a serial FLASH memory 166, and a SDRAM 168. If the data from the userconsole 102 is in PS/2 format, the data is transmitted as a serialbitstream to a PS/2 dual port host controller 176 in the integratedcircuit 120. The PS/2 dual port host controller 176 prepares the data,for example, by removing the handshaking information and parity from thebitstream, prior to processing by the microcontroller 164. Themicrocontroller 164 then converts the data from the PS/2 dual port hostcontroller 176 into data packets (internal serial format), which aretransmitted through a host processor serial multiplexer 170 in theintegrated circuit 120 to the host microcontrollers, e.g. 132. The hostmicrocontroller, e.g. 132, may then convert the mouse and keyboardinformation (such as “key up” or “key down” commands) from the internalserial format back into the PS/2 format.

The handling of data is similar when the data from the user console 102is in USB format, with the primary exception that the data is firsthandled by the USB HC/DC 162 in the console processing unit 122 (ratherthan the PS/2 dual port host controller 176) before being processing bythe microcontroller 164. It is desirable, but not always necessary, forthe data-type to be kept the same from the user console 102 to the hostcomputer. For example, if a PS/2 mouse is used at the user console 102,and both a PS/2 and USB cable are connected to the host computer, thePS/2 connection will be preferred. Similarly, if a USB mouse were used,then the USB connection would be preferred. Accordingly, it ispreferable that the internal serial format include an identification ofthe original format of the data.

By converting the format of the data sent from the console 102 intointernal serial format (rather than sending the original PS/2 or USBdata), greater efficiencies in speed, cost, and compatibility areachieved. For example, the present invention takes advantage of the factthat almost: all microcontrollers have a universal asynchronousreceiver/transmitter (UART) to handle serial data, whilemicrocontrollers rarely have PS/2 hardware. In addition, UARTs handlethe serial data very quickly, and require fewer input/output ports andless resources than PS/2 hardware.

The host microcontrollers may simulate input/output devices tofacilitate system software when actual devices are not attached to themanagement device 200. For example, the host microcontroller e.g. 132may simulate a keyboard and a mouse when no actual keyboard or mouse isattached to the management device 200. This is particularly usefulbecause the host computers may not boot properly unless a keyboardand/or mouse is connected to the management device 200 and may avoiderrors if the keyboard and/or mouse is removed from the managementdevice 200 during normal operation. In addition, there are dozens ofsignal groups, device drivers, systems states, and real-time events thatare handled by the host microcontroller 132. For example, as explainedbelow, the host microcontroller 132 may require a software driver tohandle the special display considerations when there is a console mousepointer and up to 4 additional host computer mouse pointers.

The position of the console mouse 108 is represented on the consolevideo display unit 106 by a console mouse pointer. In addition, each ofthe host computers will also have a corresponding host mouse pointer.When all four of the host computers are connected to the managementdevice 200, it is preferred that only one mouse pointer, rather thanfive mouse pointers, be visible at any given time. Therefore, in apreferred embodiment of the present invention, the four host mousepointers and the KVM mouse pointer will appear as one mouse pointer onthe console video display unit 106.

A standard PS/2 or USB mouse transmits information causing the mousepointer to move a certain number of counts up, down, left, or right fromthe mouse pointer's current position. Once a host computers activeregion is displayed as a window on the console video display unit 106,it is preferable that the host mouse pointer track the console mousepointer when the console mouse pointer is within the host computer'sactive region. Therefore, the management device 200 needs to know theposition of the console mouse pointer with respect to the host computerwindow. Since a standard mouse typically transmits only relativepositional information, the management device 200 positions the hostmouse pointer exactly under the console mouse pointer by converting therelative positional information of the console mouse pointer intoabsolute positional information using driver software loaded on the hostcomputer. The procedure for converting a mouse's relative positionalinformation into absolute positional information is well known to aperson skilled in the art of windowing systems.

Alternatively, it would be possible to find the location of the consolemouse pointer with respect to the host computer window by analyzing thevideo stream, but this would require the management device 200 toperform image recognition. Among the many difficulties, including theneed for substantial processing power, it would also require that themanagement device 200 maintain software compatibility regardless of theoperating system and program running on the host computers. Accordingly,this option is less desirable.

When the console mouse pointer is within the boundary of a host window,the management device 200 may remove, or turn off, the console mousepointer and the host mouse pointer may be turned on. Conversely, whenthe console mouse pointer is moved outside the boundary of a hostwindow, the host mouse pointer may be turned off and the console mousepointer turned on. This may be accomplished by sending control data orcommands, in addition to the normal keyboard and mouse data, to themicrocontroller of the host computer being accessed. For example, theconsole may send additional data to the host microcontroller, e.g.,microcontroller 132, such as commands to “switch to relative mouseaddressing” (when moving the console mouse pointer within a hostwindow); “switch to absolute addressing” (when moving the console mousepointer outside of the host windows); “hide host mouse pointer” (whenthe console mouse pointer is outside of the host windows); and “showhost mouse pointer” (when the console mouse pointer is within a hostwindow). Accordingly, an appearance of seamless mouse operation betweenthe host window and the console desktop may be achieved.

The above-described mouse pointer operation occurs in the embodiment ofthe present invention, where as soon as the console mouse pointer entersthe host window of a given host computer, access to that host computeris allowed. In another embodiment of the present invention, in order foraccess to a given host computer to be allowed, the user must first movethe console mouse pointer over the respective host window and“double-click” on the host window. When access to the host computer hasbeen allowed, the console mouse pointer will disappear (i.e., be turnedoff) and the user effectively gains control over the host computer mousewhose pointer has been turned on.

If it should become necessary to return control from a host computer tothe management device 200, a key sequence, such as <control> <control>can be used to remove “focus,” or control, from the host computer andreturn control to the management device 200. The key sequence toaccomplish this is entirely arbitrary, and may be programmable.Generally, the key sequence should be one that is rarely, if ever, usedduring normal computer operation. Notably, however, such a key sequenceis normally not necessary when switching between two host computers.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of an apparatus and systemthat allows for the simultaneous viewing of the video output from aplurality of computers connected to a console device and provides foreasy access to and intuitive switching between those connectedcomputers, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art thatcertain advantages of the invention have been achieved. It should alsobe appreciated that various modifications, adaptations, and alternativeembodiments thereof may be made within the scope and spirit of thepresent invention. The invention is further defined by the followingclaims.

1. A computer management system comprising: a plurality of host computers; a user console having associated user interface devices including a keyboard, a cursor control device, and a video display unit; and a management device operatively connecting the user console to the plurality of host computers, wherein the management device manages keyboard control signals and cursor control signals transmitted from the user console to the plurality of host computers, buffers incoming video frames received from the plurality of host computers, and permits selective user manipulation of the incoming video frames; wherein, the management device enables simultaneous display of selectively manipulated incoming video frames of plural ones of the plurality of host computers on the user console video display unit, enables simultaneous communication of cursor control signals to plural ones of the plurality of host computers, and enables communication of keyboard control signals to a selected one of the plurality of host computers.
 2. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device further comprises at least one frame buffer corresponding to each of the plurality of host computers for buffering the incoming video frames transmitted from each of the plurality of host computers.
 3. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device enables simultaneous display of the selectively manipulated video frames of plural ones of the plurality of host computers on the user console video display unit in an at least partially overlapping manner.
 4. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device enables simultaneous display of the selectively manipulated video frames of plural ones of the plurality of host computers on the user console video display unit in a split screen manner.
 5. The computer management system of claim 4, wherein the management device further enables selective alteration of a center point for orientation of the selectively manipulated video frames in the split screen manner.
 6. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device enables display of the selectively manipulated video frames of at least one of the plurality of host computers on at least a portion of the user console video display unit.
 7. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device enables simultaneous display of the selectively manipulated video frames on the user console video display unit in an at least partially cascading manner.
 8. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device further comprises at least one scaling module adapted to selectively alter scale of the video frames.
 9. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device further comprises at least one cropping module adapted to selectively crop the video frames.
 10. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the user console further comprises speakers operatively connected to the plurality of host computers via the management device, wherein the management device enables selective mixing of audio signals from the plurality of host computers prior to being sent to the speakers.
 11. The computer management system of claim 10, wherein level of the audio signals from the selected one of the plurality of host computers is higher than the corresponding level of audio signals from other ones of the plurality of host computers.
 12. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the selectively manipulated video frames include a corresponding boundary represented on the user console video display unit.
 13. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device provides absolute positional information of a user console cursor that is visually represented on the user console video display unit.
 14. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the management device enables selection of one of the plurality of host computers for communication of keyboard control signals thereto upon movement of a user console cursor outside of a displayed portion of the selectively manipulated video frames from the selected host computer and upon receipt of a predetermined user activation command.
 15. The computer management system of claim 14, wherein the management device terminates selection of the selected host computer upon movement of the user console cursor outside of a displayed portion of the selectively manipulated video frames from the selected host computer and upon receipt of a predetermined user termination command.
 16. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of host computers have respective host computer cursors, the host computer cursor of any one of the plurality of host computers being visually displayed upon movement of the user console cursor within a displayed portion of the corresponding selectively manipulated video frames.
 17. The computer management system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of host computers have respective host computer cursors, the host computer cursor of any one of the plurality of host computers being visually hidden upon movement of the user console cursor out of a displayed portion of the corresponding selectively manipulated video frames.
 18. In a computer management system comprising a plurality of host computers and a user console having user interface devices including a keyboard, a cursor control device, and a video display unit, a management device operatively connects the user console to the plurality of host computers, wherein the management device manages keyboard control signals and cursor control signals transmitted from the user console to the plurality of host computers, buffers incoming video frames received from the plurality of host computers, and permits selective user manipulation of the video frames; wherein, the management device enables simultaneous display of selectively manipulated video frames of plural ones of the plurality of host computers on the user console video display unit, enables simultaneous communication of cursor control signals to plural ones of the plurality of host computers, and enables communication of keyboard control signals to a selected one of the plurality of host computers.
 19. The management device of claim 18, further comprising at least one frame buffer corresponding to each of the plurality of host computers for buffering the incoming video frames transmitted from each of the plurality of host computers.
 20. The management device of claim 18, further enabling simultaneous display of the selectively manipulated video frames of plural ones of the plurality of host computers on the user console video display unit in an at least partially overlapping manner.
 21. The management device of claim 18, further enabling simultaneous display of the selectively manipulated video frames of plural ones of the plurality of host computers on the user console video display unit in a split screen manner.
 22. The management device of claim 21, further enabling selective alteration of a center point for orientation of the selectively manipulated video frames in the split screen manner.
 23. The management device of claim 18, further enabling display of the selectively manipulated video frames of at least one of the plurality of host computers on at least a portion of the user console video display unit.
 24. The management device of claim 18, further enabling simultaneous display of the selectively manipulated video frames on the user console video display unit in an at least partially cascading manner.
 25. The management device of claim 18, further comprising at least one scaling module adapted to selectively alter scale of the video frames.
 26. The management device of claim 18, further comprising at least one cropping module adapted to selectively crop the video frames.
 27. The management device of claim 18, wherein the user console further comprises speakers operatively connected to the plurality of host computers via the management device, further enabling selective mixing of audio signals from the plurality of host computers prior to being sent to the speakers.
 28. The management device of claim 27, wherein level of the audio signals from the selected one of the plurality of host computers is higher than the corresponding level of audio signals from other ones of the plurality of host computers.
 29. The management device of claim 18, wherein the selectively manipulated video frames include a corresponding boundary represented on the user console video display unit.
 30. The management device of claim 18, further providing absolute positional information of a user console cursor that is visually represented on the user console video display unit.
 31. The management device of claim 18, further enabling selection of one of the plurality of host computers for communication of keyboard control signals thereto upon movement of the user console cursor outside of a displayed portion of the selectively manipulated video frames from the selected host computer and upon receipt of a predetermined user activation command.
 32. The management device of claim 31, further enabling termination of selection of the selected host computer upon movement of the user console cursor outside of a displayed portion of the selectively manipulated video frames from the selected host computer and upon receipt of a predetermined user termination command.
 33. The management device of claim 18, wherein the plurality of host computers have respective host computer cursors, the host computer cursor of any one of the plurality of host computers being visually displayed upon movement of the user console cursor within a displayed portion of the corresponding selectively manipulated video frames.
 34. The management device of claim 18, wherein the plurality of host computers have respective host computer cursors, the host computer cursor of any one of the plurality of host computers being visually hidden upon movement of the user console cursor out of a displayed portion of the corresponding selectively manipulated video frames. 